Inspiration

I was planning to model the 300SL's spiritual successor, the SLS AMG. During the research phase I came across the original and I made a quick decision. The 300SL's design, visual properties and shape itself made quite an impression on me. Once I had taken a second look at the car I recognized instantly that it must have been a courageous and unique concept for its time. The one last detail to be decided was the model year and I chose 1955.

History

The Mercedes-Benz 300SL is a two-seated, closed sports car, built by Daimler-Benz from 1952 until 1963. It was one of the first cars to use the distinctive gull-wing doors. It was introduced in 1954 at the New York Auto Show and there were only 1,400 coupe versions released by 1957. Its top speed was phenomenal for the time at 225 km/h, with later models reaching 249km/h.

Modeling - Beauty in the Detail

The first thing to do was to gather enough background info and references. This is the only way to understand all of the detail on the vehicle. That is where the beauty of this car lies. At the time I started modeling this car, Bratislava Auto Show took place, enabling me to shoot some photos for my work. I then had everything that I needed for correcting the blueprints that I already had, which were of varying qualities.

Poly modeling was used to model the base of the image (Fig.01). Even the basic body shape needed correction during this phase because of the conflicting blueprints used at the beginning. This meant that the model required ongoing modifications which were possible because of the photographs I had taken.

Fig.01

The mesh was then divided into several entities (body, door, glass, interior, little details) so my work became a little more organized and the desktop was not as cluttered as it had been before (Fig.02 - 05).